Must Be Talkin' to an Angel

[insilentmeditation]

Inspiration Comes from the Strangest Places.  Why I'm Supporting TheRandomAct.org's Hope to Haiti Project.

Some people live their whole lives never knowing what to do with them.  I’ve spent a lifetime trying to figure it out, messing up most of the time.  I’ve done a couple of good things, though, like raising great kids, being kind to others, holding down a decent job or two, studying cultures and religions, meditating and writing until my fingers bleed.  Strangely, none of those things have made me rich or famous.  Actually, most of them don’t even get me a small cup of coffee.  Still, I’ve had a pretty good life so far.  Compared to the lives some other people have, I live like the rich and famous.  When I get up in the morning I can have a hot bath without having to trek down to the local river with buckets.  I have a house full of second hand furniture and hand me down computers and though I pay for it as I go, I have the electricity to make the electronics run.

Thousands of people in Haiti don't have what I have.  Any little bit I can do to help them recover from the earthquake's devastation is a privilege for me.

I believe in things, too.  Like, I believe that there’s a God who is constantly calling us to be our best.  For me, that means that all the skills I have and all the passion I have and all the belief I have in the gifts I have been given must be used in the best way I can possibly imagine.  I have a passion for finding meaning in a seemingly random world.  I believe in doing good and in helping others find their own purpose.  For those who have been struck by devastation or poverty or disease, finding a safe place for growing spiritually is difficult, if not impossible.  The longer someone has to spend taking care of sustenance, the less likely they are to find the time to seek meaning.  I have a passion for helping people find a place of safety, for reaching out in compassion and to transcend the boundaries of culture, age, gender, gender identity, race and religion.  I believe in God, but the God I believe in doesn’t fit into any religion; the God I believe in transcends space and time and financial status and religious identity.  I believe in being authentic and encouraging authenticity in others.  I believe in connecting people and communities and ideas until one day, perhaps we will have transcended the boundaries that keep us from truly knowing one another, or from knowing ourselves.

I believe that whatever bit I can do to help people find safety and sustenance in their world is my purpose.

I believe in angels, too.  Famous angels from the old mythologies; guardian angels that keep us safe at night; celluloid angels beamed across time and space to land right in our living room, and real angels of flesh and blood and bone.  That’s how I got here, of course.  A little knowledge can help or hurt, and I have a little knowledge about angels.  When I became curious because my favorite television angel had a name I didn’t recall hearing before, cast among characters well known, with names like Michael and Uriel, Raphael and Gabriel, I had to do some research.  That’s when I found out that not only does my favorite television angel have a real angel name, but also that he doesn’t just play an angel on TV – he really IS an angel right here in this world!

Of course, I’m talking about Supernatural’s Castiel, played by Misha Collins.  I’m kind of a newcomer to the show.  Oh, it’s been on in my house for a long time, but I have been busy with work and school and single parenting and all that goes with those things.  I didn’t have time to just sit and watch television for a long time.  Now that I’ve been catching up on all the seasons with my son, I’ve found myself enthralled – more than I have with any other show ever.  Castiel is, for me, the most intriguing fictional character since Severus Snape.   What’s more important, however, is the fact that Misha Collins plays Castiel with a tinge of truth – he is compassionate and strong, caring, focused and committed to doing right.  None of the Supernatural angels are New-Age fluffy-bunnies; Castiel least of all.  He is exactly the kind of angel I would put my trust in.

This is the kind of person that Misha Collins seems to be.  My discovery of TheRandomAct.org seems like nothing short of an angelic miracle.  I was seeking an outlet for my passion to serve.  I was struggling with what to do when I finish my graduate education in theology.  I was vacillating between options.  My decision is made.

Thank you to Misha Collins, TheRandomAct and Crowdrise.  I don’t know if I’ll raise the money to go to Haiti this year.  I don’t know how it will all pan out.  But I do know that I am meant to give all that I can to make dreams happen.  There are all kinds of dreams in this world – my dreams for making difference in this world, my children’s dreams for their future, and the dreams of those who simply live to make it through the day.

This is the reason I am here.  Why I am at Crowdrise....why I am here in this world.  

If you'd like to donate to my project in support of Hope to Haiti, you can do it at Crowdrise by clicking this link:  http://tinyurl.com/3olasxk

All donations made through this avenue will be 501c3 eligible.  Thank you.